Contents

History

After Fourth Curse

In the New Enchanted Forest, Ella grows up with her mother Cecelia and her stepfather Marcus Tremaine, who is the only father she has ever known. This martial union gave Ella two stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia, Marcus's children from his previous marriage to Rapunzel, who was presumed dead. After Rapunzel returns to the family, she secretly poisons Cecelia's heart with a curse so she can never be near her loved ones without hurting them, causing her to run away to Wonderland to keep her family safe. Ella's father follows her there, using a special locket symbolizing their love to track her to the entrance of the Infinite Maze, but when it stops glowing, he gives up out of the belief she has stopped loving him. After Marcus' one year of search,[3] and seeing how her mother's abandonment changed him for the worse, Ella comes to have very little faith in true love and happy endings. ("Pretty in Blue", "One Little Tear")

During a wintery day, Ella builds a snowman near a lake with her stepsisters as Marcus and Rapunzel watch nearby. She goes to retrieve the snowman's hat after it is blown by the wind onto the iced-over lake, and her weight on the ice causes it to crack slightly without her noticing. A concerned Anastasia follows her onto the ice, but their combined weight is too heavy, causing the ice to split open and take both of them into the water. Marcus jumps in to rescue them, but he is only able to grab Ella before Anastasia is found dead, causing Rapunzel to blame her husband, while Ella blames herself. Later on, Lady Tremaine and a prince conspire to murder Ella's father, and following his death Ella is stripped of her old life and forced to be a maid in her stepmother's manor, where she gains the nickname "Cinderella". ("Hyperion Heights", "The Garden of Forking Paths", "One Little Tear")

Not knowing about Tremaine's involvement in her father's death, Cinderella believes the prince to be solely responsible and makes plans to attend an upcoming ball in order to kill him. On her way there in a horse-drawn chariot, she is thrown from her seat after narrowly missing a man on a motorcycle. She is knocked into a field of hyacinths and later woken up by the stranger, Henry, who offers her a ride to the ball. As he is giving her a demonstration on how to operate the motorcycle, she asks him about how her story ends, seeing as he somehow knows about it. Henry explains that the prince finds the glass slipper she leaves behind at the ball and uses it to prove she is the owner, but Cinderella scoffs at this, considering many women have the same foot size as her. During the conversation, she pockets Henry's dagger without him noticing. Cinderella plays along by distracting him and concluding the story needs a twist before punching him in the face and speeding away on his motorcycle. ("Hyperion Heights", "The Garden of Forking Paths")

Cinderella makes it to the ball, but Henry does as well, and he pulls her into a dance to confront her for stealing his dagger. When Henry correctly guesses she didn't come to woo a prince, Cinderella reveals her reasons for wanting the prince dead. Henry asks her to consider what her fate will be after she is caught for murder, but she is resigned to it, believing she has no happy ending. He suggests that their meeting was a sign there is and tells her about his home where she can start over. Cinderella refuses, insisting that she cannot let this grudge go. She succeeds in charming the prince, but once she is alone with him, she pulls out the dagger on him. She has a change of heart at the last moment saying she can't do it, only for her stepmother to stab the prince in the back, killing him instantly. Tremaine reveals she to take matters into her own hands to ensure the prince, who she had no use for after he rejected Drizella as his consort, was out of the line of succession so the prince's younger brother can inherit and marry Drizella. After Tremaine shouts for the guards to capture her for assassinating the prince, Cinderella is urged by Henry to take his bike and wait for him where they first met so they can leave together for his home. While Henry fights one guard, Cinderella parries with another until she manages to flee the castle. ("Hyperion Heights")

Rushing back to the site of her and Henry's first meeting, Cinderella calls out for him as she is attacked by a guard sent to apprehend her for the prince's murder. She fights him off, only to be seized by another guard, but luckily, Tiana saves her. Tiana introduces herself as a leader of a Resistance working to end Tremaine's tyranny, but an embittered Cinderella wonders where Tiana was when her stepmother had her father killed and forced her to be a maid. Tiana apologizes for everything she's been through and suggests she join her cause as she has impressive fighting skills. Cinderella is uninterested until Tiana tells her about Tremaine's role in her father's death and how she can make a difference in taking down Tremaine before she ruins more people's lives. She then asks Tiana to hop on the motorcycle, and before she drives off with her new friend, she tosses away one of her glass slippers as a sign for Henry to come find her. At the Resistance camp, Cinderella changes into battle gear and receives boots from a devout member named Jeremiah. Tiana, after learning Tremaine is moving weapons and magic from the King's vault to her manor, shows her a drawing of a box that Tremaine has which she believes is a weapon, but Cinderella feigns ignorance about it, despite knowing it is a coffin housing Anastasia's body. Henry shows up, having found her because of her slipper, and introduces her to his mother Regina. Cinderella also meets his other companion, a pirate named Captain Hook. As Tiana goes over the plans for storming Tremaine's manor with two groups of Resistance members, Cinderella agrees to lead one of the groups. That night, she sneaks into her stepmother's manor to confront Tremaine about Anastasia's coffin. Cinderella, realizing Tremaine is not done making her pay for her daughter's death, asks her to get it over with and to not hurt her friends. Tremaine admits she still needs something from her before her revenge goes full circle, and then makes her look into the coffin. Cinderella is surprised to see Anastasia's perfectly preserved body, which Tremaine explains is necessary until Cinderella gives her Henry's pure heart to revive her stepsister. Cinderella refuses, but Tremaine enchants her hand with a heart-ripping ability and warns her to follow orders or everyone in the Resistance will die. Unable to bring herself to take Henry's heart, Cinderella prepares to rip out Jeremiah's heart, believing he would be willing to die for Resistance. However, Regina stops her and removes the enchantment on her hand, insisting the sacrifice of one person to save others is never okay. The next day, a guilt-ridden Cinderella attempts to leave on her own. She confesses to Regina about her painful past, while Regina encourages her to forgive herself for Anastasia's death and to start making decisions for herself instead of someone else. As she follows Regina's advice, Cinderella rejoins Tiana and the others, redubbing herself "just Ella", before revealing Tremaine has set a trap for them in the manor, which Regina confirms with a plausible lie about using her magic mirror to spy on the woman. Henry notices something off with Ella, although she quips back that it's good they'll have some time to talk. ("The Garden of Forking Paths")

While Henry is fixing his motorcycle, he shows Ella a torque wrench. The pair's quiet moment is interrupted by a group of bandits, whom they fight off together. When one bandit is left behind and begins fleeing, Ella goes to chase after him. Later, she and Henry go off on a mission for the Resistance. ("Wake Up Call")

Later in the woods, Ella has an intense swordfight with Henry as she playfully taunts him about not being able to keep up with her even though he was taught by a pirate. She then grabs his arm and jabbing him in his side as a reminder to him that the king's men won't play fair in battle either. Ella swings her sword at him, but she ends up spinning after Henry dodges her move and catches her in his arms. Locking eyes, the two exchange flirty banter before they almost share a kiss, except Ella moves away at the last moment. Ella apologizes, only able to tell him that "it's complicated", but when Henry asks about this, she shushes him upon hearing someone nearby. Alice shows up, and asks for their help finding her father Hook. Ella and Henry bring her to him, but the reunion goes badly, with the poison in Hook's heart growing worse after Alice tries to hug him. As a distraught Alice runs away, the couple follow her through a portal to New Wonderland. Upon arrival to this realm, Ella leads Henry towards a cottage she believes Alice went into, only for them to be caught in a net trap. Much to Ella's bemusement, Henry finds the situation funny as he recalls how his grandpa caught his grandma in a similar trap after she hit him with a rock. Ella grabs Henry's sword, but the blade accidentally slices the rope, freeing them and sending them tumbling. Henry maintains high hopes that Alice and her father will be together again and shares his grandparents' famous motto, "I will always find you". However, Ella thinks he is a bit naive as he comes from a place where true love prevails, while her world is one of broken promises. Inside a cottage, Ella finds the Infinite Maze entrance, which makes Henry realize she is in Wonderland for other reasons. She admits she means to track down her mother Cecelia, whose abandonment broke her father's heart and she wishes to find out her reasons for leaving. After downing a shrinking potion, she rushes into the maze and stumbles into a tea party, where Alice is hiding. When Ella spots her mother's locket on a teapot, Alice reveals Cecelia was killed by a Jabberwock in New Wonderland, but she had originally left her family because she had the curse of the poisoned heart. Ella also learns Alice was misled by Drizella into believing she was shielded from Hook's curse. As she realizes Henry is in danger, her mother's locket starts to glow, to which she makes it in time to save him from her stepsister, who is sent home when Alice dumps a looking glass on her. Seeing both pendants glowing in sync, Ella reciprocates Henry's feelings for her by kissing him. The pair return to a recovering Hook and give him a knight chess piece from Alice, who has hopes they can be together after he finds a cure. After Henry is reunited with his old friend Jack, he introduces him to Ella. ("Pretty in Blue")

As Henry seeks adventure by venturing into a cave to slay a golden dragon, Ella and Hook accompany him there. Ella gives Henry a kiss for good luck before they all head further in, only to find a scrounger freeloading on wine that the beast left behind after it migrated elsewhere. Ella scolds the man for drinking wine that the dragon pilfered from local villagers and then marches him out of the cave, while Henry shares his disappointment with Hook over not being able to live out a tale of heroism so he can impress Ella when he proposes to her. To give Henry what he wants, Hook persuades Black Beard to put on a grand ruse so Henry can obtain a rare ring for Ella, however, Black Beard accidentally spills the beans at the last minute. Despite this, Henry manages to get a real dose of danger and excitement by aiding in stopping a magical storm, helping him to realize he doesn't need to make a name as a gallant figurehead in order to be worthy enough for his future bride. He later brings Ella to a lake, where he tells her that his life probably will never be a fairytale and he's still unsure of what will happen in his future, but one leap of faith he is willing to take is to build a home with her. Taking out a thin banded ring, Henry professes that while he cannot be a person of prestige for her, he can offer her his heart. Ella then whispers, asking him if she can say yes yet, and as she laughs at his approving response, she agrees to marry him. After Henry slips the ring on her, he and Ella kiss. ("Breadcrumbs")

Eventually, Ella and Henry get married and have a daughter named Lucy. Drizella, while giving the heroes a prophecy about a curse she will cast in eight years' time, is transformed into a statue with Tremaine's help. ("The Eighth Witch")

As Tiana's coronation ceremony draws near, Ella and Regina help prepare in the dressing room, but they are interrupted by Dr. Facilier, who warns the future Queen of a fearsome beast that will soon threaten her kingdom and, as proof, he directs her into checking the Fairy Docks at the southern edge of the bayou. After killing the beast, at the cost of Tiana losing her ally Naveen to Facilier, Ella encourages her friend to continue believing in a way to save Naveen. Before going out to greet her subjects, Tiana insists that her mother Eudora, Ella, Henry, and Regina come with her because she trusts them to help her protect her people. ("A Taste of the Heights")

A little later after this, Ella and Henry sit under a pavilion in Queen Tiana's castle courtyard as they fawn over their baby daughter, while Hook sadly watches them, reminded of his own daughter whom he is separated from. As Henry passes Lucy into his wife's arms, the couple is startled by the appearance of an open portal as Regina's sister Zelena comes through. A little later, Ella and Henry continue looking after Lucy while Zelena and Regina get into an argument in the courtyard. ("Secret Garden")

Sometime after Zelena and her daughter Robin stay in the New Enchanted Forest, Ella joins her husband, baby Lucy, Regina, Zelena, and Hook by a campfire in the woods, where, from a distance, Alice observes them through her spyglass.[4]("The Girl in the Tower")

Years later, Ella is present at Lucy's eighth birthday celebration, but before the girl can blow out her cake candles, Gothel arrives with seven witches to free Drizella before whisking her away to help her enact the curse. Ella and Henry come up with a plan to save everyone if the curse cannot be stopped, in which Henry and Lucy will go to the Land Without Magic before the curse arrives and use the storybook to help their people believe again. However, the plan goes awry when Henry is kidnapped by Gothel and the witches, and Lucy returns to her mother with Tiger Lily to tell her what happened. Although it is tempting to go rescue Henry right away, Ella realizes it's a trap meant to distract them from the curse. Instead, Lucy stays behind with Tiana at the castle as Regina and Zelena confront Drizella at a summoning altar, during which Ella, Hook, and Jack take some of the other witches as hostages. While Regina manages to gain the curse scroll, Drizella reveals she intended for Regina to cast the curse and unveils a sickly Henry, whose heart she cursed. Ella watches with dismay as Regina's magic is unable to heal him, to which Drizella explains the only cure is if he goes to a Land Without Magic, and that she intended for Regina to cast it as the last curse ingredient is someone who already cast the curse by crushing the heart of the thing she loved most. Regina consents to Drizella's demands, and as the curse smoke spreads, Ella wonders how she will be able to find her daughter in the new realm they will be in if she can't remember her. Hook then gives her a white elephant figurine, which will keep her and Lucy's familial bond intact, ensuring they will be together in their new lives. ("The Final Battle Part 2", "The Eighth Witch")

During Fifth Curse

After Regina cast Drizella's curse to save Henry's life, Cinderella becomes Jacinda, and she lives with her roommate Sabine in an apartment. As part of the curse, she has memories of dating a musician named Nick, whom she remembers as her daughter Lucy's biological father, however, she eventually breaks up with him. She also has memories that her stepmother, Victoria Belfrey, served her with a custody battle for Lucy, but as she was too afraid of losing, Jacinda decided to just let Victoria have Lucy's custody. On the way to work each morning, she passes by Bainbridge Island, which she dreams of having as an idyllic future home for herself and Lucy. ("Hyperion Heights", "Pretty in Blue", "One Little Tear", "The Eighth Witch")

One morning, Sabine takes too long in the bathroom, causing Jacinda to be late for work. When she finally arrives after running the whole way there, her boss Louie notes she is late again. She tries to explain, but Louie is not having it. She stands up to him when he is a jerk to another employee, and when Louie asks for an apology from her, she refuses. Upon receiving further insults from her boss, Jacinda quits her job and returns home, where she tells Sabine of her plans to keep her resignation a secret from Victoria, who didn't want her to have custody of Lucy. She goes to wake up Lucy for the ballet lessons Victoria arranged for her, but she finds her daughter is gone. Jacinda discovers Lucy making a wish at the wishing well and learns Lucy apparently went to find her father. Believing her daughter caused trouble for a stranger, she goes to Roni's to apologize to the man, Henry, as well as return the laptop Lucy stole from him. As the two share drinks, Jacinda tells him about the quaint, island life she wants with her daughter. Victoria, furious over Lucy sneaking out to see Henry, arrives to declare Jacinda an unfit mother and that her grandchild will start living with her from tomorrow onward. Upset by this ultimatum, Jacinda attempts to bring Lucy to Bainbridge Island to have a fresh start, only for her car to break down. She ushers her daughter to walk with her there, but Lucy refuses. Jacinda comes clean to Lucy about Victoria's demand, however, Lucy's concerns continue to rest on Henry and breaking the curse. Perceiving that her daughter's imaginative thinking is her way of escaping from their harsh reality, Jacinda asks her to believe in her just this once. Lucy agrees, and as she and her mother hug, Officer Rogers and Jacinda's stepsister Ivy show up to retrieve Lucy for Victoria. Upset after learning Henry ratted her out, Jacinda confronts him for meddling, while Henry insists he never wanted to get involved in her family drama. Jacinda later goes back to her old workplace, where Louie agrees to rehire her. While sweeping the floor, she finds a coin and tosses it into the wishing well, unknowingly triggering the magical growth of a hyacinth flower in the abandoned lot which Lucy planted earlier in the day. ("Hyperion Heights")

Having been promised by Victoria that she will receive a ticket to Lucy's ballet recital, Jacinda comes to Belfrey Towers to get it from Ivy, but her stepsister reveals the recital has since been turned into a charity event with each ticket costing $550. Jacinda is shocked by the price, knowing that Victoria did it on purpose to keep her away from Lucy, as her paycheck is only $500. She begs her stepmother to be lenient with her since she is trying her best, however, Victoria coldly remarks that second chances are earned, not given. While at Roni's with Sabine, Jacinda is introduced by her roommate to the WorkBunny app as a way to find side job gigs and possibly earn the money she needs for the ticket. At Henry's arrival, Sabine leaves to let Jacinda talk to him. Henry apologizes for what he did that caused her separation from Lucy, but Jacinda is unimpressed because an apology won't help her see her daughter, whose recital she can't even attend because of the $550 ticket. He offers to cover her admission fee, which she rejects due to not wanting to seem like a damsel in distress who needs saving. Later, Sabine sees an ad on WorkBunny asking for two servers for the charity event, which she and Jacinda are hired for, only to discover from the event caterer Remy that Henry put up the job post. Although still reluctant to accept Henry's apology and his attempt to make up for his mistake, Jacinda is overjoyed to be reunited with Lucy prior to the recital. As Jacinda is engrossed with watching her daughter's performance on stage, Rogers seemingly follows through with Detective Weaver's orders and implicates Henry for stealing Victoria's bracelet. After the recital, Weaver asks all the event staff to turn out their pockets for a search in order to find who stole the bracelet. Jacinda, livid that he is singling them out for theft, gets into an argument with him. Before things turn physical, Henry intervenes, causing him to be bruised in the face by Weaver, who then demands to see what is in his pocket, but Henry reveals it is just his keychain. Later that night at Roni's, Jacinda gives Henry a beer as a peace offering and thanks him for giving her a way to see Lucy, despite her continued resistance against being like Cinderella, and that he took a hit from Weaver for her. She also finally accepts his apology, to which Henry asks her to sit with him, but she declines, stating she has a late shift to finish. ("A Pirate's Life")

Despite being separated from Lucy, Jacinda begins exchanging letters with her daughter, with each of them taking turns with leaving them in the wishing well. One day when she prepares to drop a letter into the well, Victoria arrives with a demolition team to tear down the garden and begin constructing new condos. Jacinda asks her not to for Lucy's sake, as the girl loves the garden and its flowers, but Victoria states it's too late and simply asks her to leave or risk getting buried in the rubble. Jacinda goes to Roni for help, and the bartender finds out through a building manual that it is possible to stop the demolition if enough people sign a petition to keep the garden intact. After Jacinda collects at least 100 signatures, Victoria offers a deal she cannot resist: a new condo for her and Lucy if she burns the petition. Wanting to be with her daughter, Jacinda sets the papers on fire, but her actions disappoint Lucy, who vows she would rather be apart from her mom if she is going to give up. Roni advises her to consider how much she is willing to give up to Victoria to do that, as the woman will take away everything from her if she lets her. With this in mind, Jacinda persuades the residents of Hyperion Heights to resign the petition again and publicly acknowledges Lucy's persisting belief in the garden as the reason why she is fighting for it too. She then rallies the community into showing solidarity against Victoria's plans by beautifying the garden with more planted flowers. After the rally, Jacinda and her daughter have ice cream with Henry, who mentions that he has to work on a story about the garden. Henry says goodbye to Jacinda, but as he is walking away, Lucy rushes to hand him the piece of the glass slipper she found in the mines. While Lucy meant to give it to Jacinda, she states her mom no longer needs it since she's already becoming a hero and Henry needs it as a reminder that he'll find his true love even if he thinks she is gone. After finishing her talk with Henry, Lucy runs back to her mom, who engulfs her in a warm hug. ("The Garden of Forking Paths")

Arriving out of the elevator, Jacinda has Lucy's Halloween costume and candy bucket in hand as she approaches the reception desk to pass them to Ivy. She reaffirms her understanding that she is not allowed to see Lucy, but upon finding out Ivy is not thrilled about having to babysit the girl, she offers to take her stepsister's place. Ivy declines, not wanting Victoria to find out she allowed it. At work, Jacinda serves a meal to a family of four who are dressed as the Incredibles for Halloween. She longingly looks at the children before being shaken out of her stupor by Henry, who jokingly asks if the Scary Fries on the menu are Exorcist or Gremlin level scary. After Jacinda answers his question and prompts him about whether he wants to order anything, Henry nervously tries to ask her out but Jacinda's attention is diverted when she sees Ivy snooping outside. Ivy admits she lost sight of Lucy during trick-or-treating and asks for her help to locate her before Victoria finds out. Jacinda blames Ivy for not relenting to her request earlier, while Ivy criticizes her for not getting her life together. The two stepsisters continue to trade verbal barbs, with Ivy mocking Jacinda for hanging around Henry, whom she dubs her "baby daddy", as Jacinda sneers at Ivy for having no friends. As Jacinda is unable to leave her job to look for Lucy or risk being fired, Ivy leaves to search on her own. Jacinda moves to follow, deciding her job is not worth it, but Henry persuades her to let him do it instead. She provides him with a list of possible places Lucy may be, and with help from Ivy, Lucy is found visiting a haunted house. That evening, Lucy is reunited with Jacinda, who learns of Ivy's part in tracking down her daughter. In a rare act of kindness, Ivy mentions there is an hour of trick-or-treating left and suggests Jacinda, Lucy, and Henry should go altogether. Henry, however, decides not to as he doesn't want to get in the way of some mother and daughter bonding. Jacinda inquiries about what Henry was trying to ask her earlier on, but he lies, stating he wants her to read his blog post about the garden when it's published. ("Beauty")

While Jacinda is at work, Sabine visits to inform her that Victoria raised their rent and of her new beignet business idea that'll help them earn big money. Jacinda believes the plan is too risky, especially since she has her job and Lucy to think about losing if everything backfires, but Sabine persuades her to take a chance by going after something to make their dreams of success a reality. Within the day, Sabine's beignets draw in many customers, during which Lucy helps them create a firefly logo for the pastry bags. Jacinda, excited by how quickly their business is growing, imagines setting up a stand at the farmer's market, however, Sabine dreamily envisions having a food truck with a jazzy and sophisticated atmosphere. However, things take a bad turn when a fire breaks out, prompting Jacinda to make a feeble attempt to put it out, but she then escapes as Sabine follows her out shortly after pulling the fire alarm. After the fire has died down, Jacinda yells at Sabine for getting her to pursue this crazy venture with the hopes that their lives could get better when it won't. Sabine, realizing her dream cost both her and Jacinda, gives her a box with ten months of rent money to use until Jacinda can find a new job and also agrees to move out of their apartment. With some convincing from Lucy, Jacinda realizes she was wrong about Sabine being too optimistic and naive about her dreams. receives Rogers' help to locate a food truck at an impound lot, which she buys using the rent money that Sabine gave her. Afterward, Jacinda apologizes to her, having realized she has been the one to help lift her up when life gets her down. Further recognizing that Sabine also needs the same from her, she shows her a food truck that they can use for their future business. ("Greenbacks")

Rushing into the bar, Jacinda borrows a box of tools from Roni to begin fixing up the food truck. Henry offers to help her, but Jacinda gives him the brush off, leaving Henry confused about her reaction until he finds out she is keeping her distance because she saw photos of him and Ivy on social media. As Jacinda is working under the truck, she hears the stereo being switched to a song by The English Beat before she rolls out to see Henry standing with the stereo propped over his head. She nonchalantly asks about why he is playing that song, and when he rambles about his love for 80s music and his penchant for making mixtapes, she remarks how little sense he is making. Seeing as she isn't getting the hint, Henry awkwardly explains that, in his experience, mixtapes worked as an icebreaker when he wanted to ask a girl out. He goes on to clarify nothing happened between him and Ivy and that, in fact, Jacinda is the one he can't stop thinking about. Jacinda, while impressed by his forwardness, reasons that she is too busy with a new business and being a single mother, though Henry proposes he has nothing but time for whenever she wants to go on a date. Jacinda prompts him about going on a date with her now as he helps her fix the truck and remarks that mixtapes always work on girls. As Jacinda turns away, Henry revels in the successful date by pumping his fists in the air and managing to resume a normal stance just as she passes a wrench to him. Jacinda then turns the volume up on the stereo again before joining Henry under the truck. ("Wake Up Call")

After Jacinda and Henry manage to get the electrical system on the food truck to start running, they celebrate by getting drinks at the bar. Jacinda mentions being stuck without a paycheck until the truck business can actually begin, but luckily, Roni agrees to help supplement her income by hiring her as a bartender. As the pair grab a table together, Ivy continues pushing Roni to separate them and prevent true love's kiss from happening. While on a work shift with Roni, Jacinda excitedly tells her about her upcoming date with Henry and the possibility of working on regaining custody of Lucy. Falling in line with Ivy's previous warning to her, Roni subtlely convinces Jacinda that pursuing a new relationship with Henry won't look good in the eyes of social workers if she intends to get her daughter back. Jacinda then decides to cancel her date with Henry and tells him that she picked up another shift. Henry suggests they could do something next weekend, which Jacinda says maybe, however, she sounds unconvincing. As she walks off, Henry dejectedly watches her go, as a guilty Roni notices his reaction. Later, Henry informs Jacinda and Roni about Victoria being arrested for holding a woman captive. Realizing this means Victoria no longer has custody of Lucy, Jacinda happily embraces Henry over the news and then goes to Belfrey Towers to pick her daughter up. However, she learns social services will be taking in Lucy instead as they have not yet reviewed the case to determine where her daughter should go in Victoria's absence. Lucy begs her mother not to let them take her, but Jacinda has no choice in the matter. ("Eloise Gardener")

At the foster home Lucy is staying in, Jacinda visits her daughter and tries to reassure her that she is figuring things out so they can be together again. Sabine proposes getting help from a certain lawyer, specifically Nick, Jacinda's ex who recently graduated from law school. Jacinda refuses as this would mean drudging up her messy past with him, though Sabine convinces her to take the risk if she means to do everything and anything to get Lucy back. Jacinda gets in contact with Nick, telling him that she will drop off all the custody paperwork after her work shift, however, Nick ends up showing up at the bar, where he and Henry develop a rapport over their shared music tastes until Henry unceremoniously finds out Nick is Lucy's biological father. Nick explains he wanted to get caught up with the paperwork in time so they could go over it during their meeting in the evening, so Jacinda gives it to him. After Nick's departure, Henry expresses surprise over the man's connection to Lucy and how successful he is, which Jacinda downplays it as she didn't know either and was out of contact with him for years. Later, Nick changes his meeting location with Jacinda to a new restaurant, prompting Jacinda to pretty herself up in the hopes of getting on his good side and showing she is a responsible adult. Sabine suspiciously wonders if she is, in fact, falling for Nick again, which Jacinda stubbornly denies. During the date, Nick questions her about a missing document in the paperwork that shows Victoria won custody of Lucy. Rather than tell him the truth about how she forfeited the case and let Victoria have her daughter, Jacinda tells him she misplaced it. After the date, Jacinda and Nick show up at the food truck, where Henry has just gotten the engine to start running. Henry, hurt at seeing them together, tosses Jacinda the truck key and leaves, but she catches up with him, insisting nothing is going on with her and Nick. She confesses she was just trying to impress Nick is because she is too ashamed of how she lost Lucy to Victoria. Henry persuades her to be honest with Nick if she is serious about regaining Lucy and suggests perhaps now is not the right time for them to date. She follows his advice, and after Nick reunites her with Lucy, she introduces him to her daughter. Jacinda makes a mixtape for Henry and goes to the bar to give it to him, but she finds out from Remy, who is bartending as a side gig, that he left on a trip with Roni. ("Pretty in Blue")

While Jacinda has breakfast with her daughter before preparing to send her off to school, Lucy asks if they can invite Henry over to share their good news with him. She hesitates, not wanting to say Henry is away and tells Lucy that they can figure something out tomorrow. After Lucy has gone to get her schoolbag, Jacinda spills the beans to Sabine about Henry's leaving although she has no idea why he has gone to San Francisco. Later, Victoria shows up to formally relinquish Lucy to her. She explains she had been testing Jacinda at the time she had challenged her in the custody battle all those years ago hoping she would fight back, but Jacinda had not. However, Victoria is pleased Jacinda got Nick's help with regaining Lucy and persuades her stepdaughter that being locked up has made her realize Lucy belongs with her mother. Jacinda remains a little skeptical of her stepmother until Nick verifies the paperwork is legit, to which she ecstatically hugs him before the pair unexpectedly share a kiss. She pulls away, telling him she didn't mean to do that, and Nick apologizes for misreading her signals. Jacinda admits he wasn't wrong but that she is grateful towards him and what she actually wishes for is for him to have a relationship with Lucy. Sometime after, Jacinda sees a downtrodden Lucy return home, but when she goes to see what is wrong with her daughter, Lucy suddenly passes out in her arms. ("One Little Tear")

As Lucy is wheeled into the hospital, Jacinda stays by her side as Sabine tries to reassure her that her daughter will pull through. Jacinda decides to phone both Henry and Nick to inform them about Lucy. Henry misses Jacinda's call, but he eventually phones back and learns what happened, causing him to book a flight back to Seattle and to Lucy's bedside. When Henry expresses a desire to do more for the comatose girl, Jacinda encourages him to read his novel to Lucy as it always gave her strength whenever she needed it. Later, Jacinda falls asleep in the hospital room while Henry continues reading to Lucy and is so distraught over her nonresponsive state that he takes a chance by attempting to give her true love's kiss, but Lucy remains unconscious. ("The Eighth Witch")

Jacinda continues to stay at her daughter's bedside, and later, Doctor Sage approaches her after attempting to find out the cause of Lucy's condition but the results are inconclusive. In the meantime, the doctor asks Jacinda and Nick to submit their blood samples to test for a genetic match between them and Lucy in case there is an emergency where a donor is needed. While Doctor Sage gets a drink from the vending machine, Jacinda asks if she has found anything from the results yet, and the doctor assures her she'll come to her when she does. Jacinda takes an Apollo bar from the machine as she tells Henry how unreal the situation is, and then notices he has a band-aid on his arm. Henry explains he took the blood test even though there's little chance of a match between him and Lucy, but that he would've done the same for his own family. When Jacinda then asks what it was like to lose them, Henry offers his reassurance that she won't lose Lucy and her daughter will wake up eventually. After Victoria sacrifices herself to the Resurrection Amulet, her life is traded for Lucy's revival. As the girl opens her eyes, Jacinda and Henry are elated by her return and keep her company as she eats. Later, Doctor Sage receives confirmation through the blood test results that Henry is Lucy's biological father, however, someone poisons her and steals the results. ("Secret Garden")

After Victoria's unexpected death, Jacinda accompanies her daughter to the cemetery, where Lucy lays hyacinth flowers on the gravestone. The pair interrupts Sabine in the food truck as she is busy listening to the first episode of Henry's new podcast, H-Town, and she notes that Henry mentioned Jacinda quite a bit in it.
Jacinda and her daughter offer to help her prepare for the upcoming food fair in Hyperion Heights, but Sabine suggests they spend some quality family time together. Lucy wants to have Henry over as a way to thank him for his support while she was in the hospital, to which Jacinda invites him via text message. At the apartment that evening, Jacinda makes hot cocoa for herself, her daughter, and Henry. After Lucy heads off to bed early so the adults can have some alone time, Henry asks Jacinda about the mixtape she meant to give him had he not left for San Francisco. She shyly admits she got cold feet, while he awkwardly recalls how many tries it took for him to ask her out. Jacinda eventually gives him the tape and allows him to go over the song artists she picked for him. As the two develop a more easygoing banter with each other, they nearly kiss, except Lucy bursts in to stop them, having just found out from a storybook page that true love's kiss will kill Henry. Lucy then jumps to sit between the two adults, who go along with her sudden change in behavior. For the rest of the night, Lucy begins acting colder towards Henry, which confuses Jacinda. ("A Taste of the Heights", "Knightfall")

At the apartment, Jacinda makes Lucy's favorite dish, mac and cheese, and tries to pique her interest in eating it, but the girl insists on working on her homework assignments instead. When Jacinda asks her daughter about her shifting behavior with Henry last night, Lucy tells her she is just overwhelmed after her stint in the hospital as well as her grandmother Victoria's death and needs her mother with her instead of her spending time with some guy. Jacinda reminds Lucy that Henry isn't "some guy" as he is her favorite author, however, the girl lies and says he used to be, but after going through some real-life bad experiences, maybe she doesn't believe in fairytales anymore, declaring that she doesn't want her mother to see Henry again. Later, Ivy shows up Ivy shows up at Jacinda's doorstep with a box of her old stuff that Victoria kept. Jacinda wonders about the real reason she came and questions if she even cared that Victoria died, to which Ivy defensively states she is still working through it and what she and her mother had was not the mother-daughter bond that Jacinda has with Lucy. However, Jacinda reveals all relationships have problems, including a rift she and Lucy are having which she blames on herself. Ivy admits she is not a fan of Jacinda's self-pitying ways but agrees that, unlike Victoria, she is a great mother who lets her daughter know she is loved. Realizing Ivy had a deeper reason for coming to see her, Jacinda envelopes her in a hug before giving her a doll, whom Ivy recognizes as her childhood toy Beatrice. As the sisters reminisce about their childhoods, Ivy comes up with an idea of how to fix things for her mother and leaves in a hurry. ("Knightfall")

After Jacinda sets up dinner with Sabine at a restaurant, she goes with Lucy to Roni's bar to pick up a food order for her daughter and her babysitter. During her evening out, Jacinda wanders from the restaurant, where Sabine is still waiting for their reserved seats, to the next door barcade. She walks in just after Henry, encouraged by both Nick and Rogers, is tasked with asking out the next woman who enters the bar. As Jacinda hangs out with Henry, the pair talk about the possibility that fate is somehow causing them to bump into each other, considering Jacinda happened to book the restaurant next door and walk into the bar when Henry was there too. For fun, Jacinda makes Henry test the theory of fate by trying to flip a bar token into a nearby empty mug. Henry makes his shot, and as he and Jacinda eagerly watch as the coin soars towards its goal, someone grabs the mug from the counter, causing the coin to miss its target. After being texted by Sabine that their table is ready, Jacinda bids Henry goodbye by kissing him on his cheek. Later that evening at home, she does her own experiment on fate by lying down on the couch with her eyes closed and throwing the coin up in the air behind her, making it clink into a glass of water, to her astonishment. ("Sisterhood")

As Henry excitedly shares news about landing an interview in New York with the possibility of being hired to produce other people's podcasts, Jacinda's initial excitement turns to dismay when he mentions accepting the job means he has to leave Hyperion Heights. She encourages him to do what is best for his career, and on Henry's way out from her apartment, he thanks her for everything before walking off, though much has been left unsaid between them. Jacinda visits Sabine inside the food truck, where she bumps into Tilly, who has been hired to help sell beignets. Sabine picks up on her weird mood, and when Jacinda tells her about how she responded to Henry's job offer, she insists Henry obviously wanted Jacinda to stop him from going and tells her to give him a call. At home, Jacinda continues to struggle with whether to call him or not. Lucy comes back from her day at the bar helping Kelly with inventorizing, and she cheerfully hints that she has a good feeling about her mom and Henry. Jacinda recalls how Lucy treated Henry the last time he was over, to which her daughter admits she was scared of all the changes that were going to happen but reaffirms she has always wanted her and Henry together. Seeing her mother's phone is open to Henry's contact number, Lucy persuades her to call him and convince him not to go to New York. Jacinda phones him, but the line rings until the call, on the other end, is declined by Nick, who kidnapped Henry because he figured out the latter's identity as the Candy Killer. ("Breadcrumbs")

The morning after in the apartment, Jacinda beats egg batter in a bowl as pancakes are cooking in a pan, while distracted by her own thoughts. Sabine interrupts by scooping up the pancakes onto a plate before they burn, which Jacinda thanks her for before sharing her concerns about not getting any texts from Henry even though she called him. When a text from Henry does arrive suddenly, Jacinda is relieved to hear from him, though she gets worried over learning his interview in New York went well. Sabine reassures her a good interview doesn't mean he will be going away and she encourages her to reply to Henry, to which Jacinda texts back with good wishes. While doing some laps near a running track, Jacinda is asked by Rogers about whether she heard from Henry recently because his car was found abandoned on the road with a flat tire, in addition to him verifying with the airline that Henry never boarded his flight. She doesn't believe it since Henry texted her, and as she is getting her phone from inside her car to show it to him, Rogers spots a gingerbread house DIY kit in the back seat, which Jacinda says Nick gave to Lucy. Upon skimming the text message, Rogers asks her to check if anything in it sounds like it wasn't written by Henry. Jacinda notices Henry referred to her as J, a nickname Sabine usually calls her, however, Rogers remembers Nick also called her by that name at the barcade during the other night. He then questions if Nick has any scars, and Jacinda admits Nick does but he is very self-conscious about them. Realizing Nick is the Candy Killer and he kidnapped Henry, Rogers withholds this information from her and instead instructs her to go home and not let anyone in. That evening, after being rescued from Nick's apartment by Rogers, Henry reunites with Jacinda and Lucy at their place and tells them he is letting go of the job interview in New York. ("Chosen")

Following Nick's arrest, Jacinda asks Henry about what happened during his ordeal, but Henry says he is not ready yet to discuss it. Henry eventually retrieves his blood test result that Nick had previously used as proof that Henry is Lucy's biological father, and he shows it to Jacinda, telling her he confirmed with the hospital that it's real. ("The Guardian")

Over at his apartment, Henry continues to try and persuade Jacinda that the test result is real and could prove everything in his book actually happened. Jacinda ponders how he could possibly be Lucy's father but she somehow magically forgot about it. Henry explains how it felt like love at first sight for him when he first met her in Hyperion Heights, though now he believes it was because he already loved her before in their old lives. Jacinda questions where her glass slippers are if she's supposed to be Cinderella, and she remains skeptical even after Henry shows her a piece of glass which he thinks came from her slipper. Henry puts the shard in her hand and encourages her to try to believe for his sake. Jacinda seems to consider it, but then her phone buzzes as she receives a text from Sabine asking for help at the food truck since Drew bailed on work. She apologizes and prepares to leave, and when Henry asks if he scared her, she admits he did somewhat. Lucy, hatching a plan with Mr. Samdi to cure Henry's heart by finding an item which symbolizes the love between her parents, looks through some of her and her mother's old belongings, telling Jacinda that she is nostalgic for the past to remember who they are. As Lucy prepares to open a box labeled "BL" for "Before Lucy", Jacinda inquiries about what she's actually hunting for. Lucy admits she is looking for evidence Henry is her father, and as crazy as it seems, she recalls that she once believed in her when they almost ran away to Bainbridge Island and now she needs her mother to believe in her too. In the box, there is a t-shirt from Granny's which Jacinda does not recognize, but Lucy remembers from Henry's book that it's a diner from where he grew up. Lucy then finds a takeout bag from Granny's with a broken glass slipper inside it. Even Jacinda is shocked by the discovery as Lucy excitedly declares her mom truly is Cinderella. Lucy runs off with the slipper, delivering it to Samdi, who uses it to cure Henry's poisoned heart. Jacinda calls Henry to share the news about finding the slipper, and once he comes to her apartment, she tells him how the piece of glass he gave her fit perfectly with the slipper. As they revel over the reality that they met in another life, Henry hints at the fact they haven't kissed yet. Jacinda begins leaning in but pauses to consider that she's not yet Cinderella as her only memories are of the life she now. She asks if that's okay and after Henry confirms it is, the two kiss. Lucy returns home, elated that her parents are finally together, but soon realizes even with true love's kiss, the curse is still not broken. ("Flower Child")

After the kiss, Jacinda and Henry make plans for a trip to Bainbridge Island with Lucy. Roni, who can't believe Henry's belief in magic is dying, later questions him on why he kissed Jacinda if he no longer has belief in fairytales. Henry states he did because he's in love with Jacinda, and when nothing magical happened from the kiss, he realized he has been chasing after an imaginary past by being someone he is not. While Jacinda packs for the trip, Sabine gives Lucy a spare bag to use and mentions in passing that she still hasn't heard back from Drew. Lucy then finds a tarot card in the bag, which Drew once used, and suggests Mr. Samdi knows where he is. Jacinda accompanies Sabine to Samdi's office and tells Lucy to continue packing, though the girl sneaks off to meet with Roni to come up with another plan to restore Henry's belief. At the office, Jacinda flashes the tarot card as proof that Samdi is involved in Drew's disappearance. Samdi directs the women to his closet, where they discover Drew tied up inside. He orders both of them to get in the closet as well and compels them into obeying by using a voodoo doll to hurt Sabine. ("Is This Henry Mills?")

After Fifth Curse

Jacinda, Sabine, and Drew remain trapped in the closet until shortly after Henry breaks the Dark Curse, and they break out to confront Mr. Samdi with weapons. The two women move to strike him, but he manages to teleport away in time. Jacinda rushes off to find her family and reunites with Henry at the Community Gardens just before Lucy also arrives to join her parents in a group hug. ("Is This Henry Mills?")

As citizens of Hyperion Heights celebrate at Roni's, Jacinda joins her husband and daughter there. Henry gets both of them drinks, with a hot cocoa with cinnamon for Lucy and one of Roni's special drinks called the "weed killer" for Jacinda. Roni toasts them in honor of their family reunion, just as Margot and Tilly bring in a batch of Sabine's baked beignets. Later at Henry's apartment, Lucy makes frosted cupcakes for her parents which are topped with individually lit candles. Henry tells them about how own mother made a wish on a cupcake that spurred on his reunion with her, and now that he has been reunited with his family, he doesn't know what to wish for. Jacinda agrees with his sentiments before all three of them smile at each other and blow out the candles together. In the next instant, Jacinda and her daughter are whisked away by Rumplestiltskin of the Wish Realm and entrapped in a crystal ball in his castle. Henry, upon finding his family gone, is pressured by Rumplestiltskin to giving him Weaver's dagger if he wishes to see his family again. With Roni, Rogers, and Weaver, Henry uses Tilly's looking glass, which, unknown to them, Rumplestiltskin has tampered with in order to separate them into specific locations once they arrive in the Wish Realm. Henry and Roni, ending up in the Dark One's castle, eventually locate a room where they hear Jacinda and Lucy's cries for help from inside the crystal ball. Since Henry is unwilling to forfeit Weaver's happiness for his own, Rumplestiltskin creates a snowstorm in the crystal ball, warning him that he has until midnight before snow completely fills up the globe and his family dies. As only Rumplestiltskin's magic can undo the prison that Jacinda and Lucy are in, Weaver attempts to single-handedly defeat the Dark One by tricking him into touching the squid ink-covered dagger and then stabbing him, but it all goes awry when the ink wears off too fast. After Sir Henry aids Rumplestiltskin with the Author's pen, the Dark One banishes Henry, Weaver, and Rogers into the same snowglobe world. ("Homecoming")

As the storm rages on in the globe world, Jacinda and her daughter seek shelter in a cabin, where they wait out the cold until Henry, Rogers, and Weaver arrive. Rogers and Weaver make a futile attempt at breaking the glass around the globe, but after being provided with Maui's hook from Tilly, Margot, and past Storybrooke's Zelena, they are all able to get out safely. Learning Sir Henry intends to execute Roni, the heroes formulate a plan to get into the castle and rescue her, with unexpected help from Snow White and Prince Charming. Afterward, the group gathers at the war council room to discuss the storybooks Wish Rumplestiltskin has made to entrap each of them in unhappy lives in alternate realms. Jacinda aids in Snow and Charming's plan to notify the citizens of the Wish Realm about Rumplestiltskin, while everyone else goes to find Weaver. Eventually, Weaver sacrifices his life to kill the Dark One, saving them all. ("Leaving Storybrooke")

After Sixth Curse

After Regina unites all the realms, the citizens of the United Realms elect her as their new Queen. Ella attends the surprise coronation, where she and the other people present applaud Regina as she walks in. The ceremony is briefly halted when Emma, Hook, and baby Hope arrive late before Snow White crowns Regina with the title "The Good Queen". Afterward, Ella and the crowd of people listen to Regina give a resounding speech about the wonders and losses that are a part of life and make people who they are. ("Leaving Storybrooke")

Trivia

Etymology

The name "Jacinda" is a variant form of "Jacinta",[5] which is the Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of the name "Hyacinthus".[6] This name is the Latinized form of the Greek name "Hyakinthos", which is derived from the name of the hyacinth flower.[7] The hyacinth is Cinderella's associated flower in the series.

Production Notes

The casting call describes her as "a 'strong-willed, independent woman with a no-nonsense sensibility and a warm heart at her core'. Life hasn’t always been kind to her, but she is 'sharp and resourceful' and never gives up on herself — or those she believes in".[10]

According to Dania Ramirez, Cinderella "is edgy and grounded and raw and a badass". She also added that "she's not this damsel in distress. Meeting the prince was [not] the end of her night, that was actually the beginning".[11]

According to Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Jacinda is "a single mother who is struggling to keep her family together, keep her life together and keep her head up against many obstacles. So she's finding herself once again being Cinderella to the world where she feels like she is constantly cleaning up her mess, but yet she can never get ahead".[12]

Other Notes

Unlike most versions of Cinderella whose mother died and gained the wicked step-family, this one never knew her biological father and her mother later married another man with children. ("One Little Tear")

↑Abrams, Natalie (September 15, 2017). Once Upon a Time: Meet the New Cast. Entertainment Weekly. “"We see a single mother who is struggling to keep her family together, keep her life together and keep her head up against many obstacles. So she’s finding herself once again being Cinderella to the world where she feels like she is constantly cleaning up her mess, but yet she can never get ahead."”